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Codemasters Signs 'Damnation' (PS3/X360/PC)

Damnation features open environments, frenetic combat, daredevil acrobatics and high-octane vehicle-based stunts. Presenting players with an intense test of reflexes, quick thinking and rapid-fire conflict, Damnation will feature vast landscapes, each covering miles of distance and thousands of vertical feet.

Evolving the shooter genre with its unique and exhilarating combination of fluid action and combat, Damnation will feature huge, open environments, frenetic combat, daredevil acrobatics and high-octane vehicle-based stunts. Presenting players with an intense test of reflexes, quick thinking and rapid-fire conflict, Damnation will feature vast, breathtaking landscapes, each covering miles of distance and thousands of vertical feet.

Billed as a 'shooter gone vertical' and visually inspired by iconic elements of American history, these massive streaming landscapes will form the battlegrounds for a post-industrial conflict between humanity and an unstoppable arms dealer hell-bent on total world domination.

"We really wanted to do a Western game that leveraged the power of Epic's Unreal 3 technology," says Executive Producer Richard Gilbert, "but we found the purely historical setting far too limiting for the design we had in mind. By allowing technology to advance in some areas, but remain more primitive in others due to the ravages of a protracted war, we were able to create a fantastic Steampunk-style industrialized Old West worthy of Jules Verne. Throw in some American Indian mysticism in the form of Spirit Powers (for instance you can possess other people with the Spirit Vision ability), martial arts acrobatics learned from the Chinese Laborers who laid railroad tracks across the West, a really diverse band of Outlaws as the central characters, and a kick-ass story arc to propel the action forward, and even Artemus Gordon would be singing 'Can't Touch This.'"

Players will be able to choose their own paths and navigate the world by performing daredevil feats on the edge of human ability. However players aren't the only ones with mind-blowing acrobatic skills; intelligent enemies will give chase and engage players in frantic gun fights and attacks that can come from any direction – in Damnation's world there's no safe place to hide.

With up to three hours of actual gameplay stretching out in front of them per level, players will need more than just muscle power to get across each level safely. Damnation will offer players a selection of awe-inspiring vehicles, from motorbikes capable of launching across seemingly infinite chasms, to huge, armour-piercing marvels that will induce mayhem with every huge shell.

The high action will be supported with an epic and in-depth story which, while focusing on the exploits of the hero character Rourke, is truly an ensemble piece. Players will meet and become involved in intricate story plots that reveal much more than the obvious.

In addition to the single player experience, Damnation comes complete with a unique set of multiplayer options that take full advantage of the game's expansive levels.

"With such a rich and uniquely diverse visual environment to create for next generation graphics hardware," Gilbert continued, "we knew we would need a top partner to manage art direction. We are thrilled to have signed industry leading art and animation studio Liquid Development to that role." Liquid Development's work has been featured in blockbusters like Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, Mass Effect, and Rock Band, amongst many more.

Blue Omega Entertainment, awarded second place in 2005's Make Something Unreal Contest Grand Finals, secured the services of veteran development studio Demiurge as the lead programming group for Damnation. Demiurge Studios team members have worked on over 40 shipped titles over the past 10 years, and its repeat customers include among others, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Majesco, Gearbox, Secret Level, Foundation 9 and Harmonix.